GOOD HEARING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 228, 27 September 1938, Page 12

GOOD HEARING.

MR. SEMPLE SPEAKS.

CHAIRMAN'S ALLEGATION.

NATIONALISTS' RESENTMENT.

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

CHRISTCHURCH, Monday,

There was uproar in the Papanui Town Hall this evening when, at the conclusion of an address by the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Seniple, the Mayor of Christehureh, Mr. R. M. Macfarlane, who presided, described the presence of a number of National party support era in the audience as an organised attempt to disrupt the meeting. There was a certain amount of booing from thia section of the audience as a counter to Mr. Semple's supporters' cheers, but the meeting was no more lively than is normal at a political meeting where any considerable body of opposition is present.

Mr. Semple was given in the main an attentive and enthusiastic hearing, and the applause with which a vote of thanks was carried at the conclusion came from the whole audience. The hall contained about 800 persons and there were about 200 outside.

"Back to Freedom'* Campaign. "I want to speak tonight on the 'hack to freedom' campaign of the National party," said Mr. Semple. "I want to ask yon what freedom the Lahonr party has taken away? I say that every man and woman in this country has "more freedom now than was enjoyed three yearn ago." The National party had no right to talk of a return to liberty of the subject, said Mr. Semple. During their last term as Government, the Nationalists had lengthened the life of Parliament without contuilting the electors. This was completely against the constitution, which specifically laid it down that Parliament should have a life of three years and no more. They paid themselves during this time out of the public purse without a mandate from the country, but before they went out of power they legalised their action by legislation. The first action of the Labour Government was to restore to the people their freedom to np.y whether or not the Government should be allowed to carry on. J Public Service Organisation. The freedom of public servants to take any part in politics had been removed by the last Government, and the right of public servants to meet together in their organisations was removed. No public servant could stand for Parliament without losing his job. For the first time in the history of the country the Labour Government had restored in full the political rights of public servants and allowed them a political conscience. The Police Force- was denied the right to form an organisation of its own and the right to meet to discuss its position. Thin freedom the Labour Government had restored.

The freedom of workers was removed when the Arbitration Court was forced to tear up every industrial agreement then in force, said Mr. Semple, and workers were prevented from obtaining new agreement* without the consent of their employers. Under the last Government the position of a youth under 20 years of age was hopeless. There wa€ no provision for the ami stance of young New Zealandera until they were 20, and then they were herded into clave camps at 10/ a week,

Before I wa* three month* in office I tore all these slave camps down," said Mr. Semple. "With their talk about freedom the Nationalist* mean the freedom of the minority to exploit the great majority."

Explaining the Government's activities on behalf of road safety Mr. Semple •aid the problems had only one solution and that was the complete reconstruction of all the main roads of the Dominion. "In building road* we are establishing the Roman principle of planning road* that will last for centuries." Road Safety Efforts. Mr. Semple described /the simplification of the traffic laws of the country and efforts made to make the road* safer for the public. Mr. Semple concluded by describing expenditure on public works that had been saved through the use of machinery and said that the completion of railway* that had been undertaken had been necessary to save something of the money that bad been spent on them before the Labour Government came into power.